The new Devil’s Slide tunnels through San Pedro Mountain open this week, which means a final end to a nail-biting drive on Highway 1 through cliffs famous for landslides and emergency closures.

It’s a moment to remember that the $439 million project, paid with federal highway funds, could have had a somewhat different outcome. Local conservationist Peter Drekmeier remembers an old Caltrans plan that would have bisected Montara Mountain and may have changed forever the undeveloped coastline.

Alison Hawkes was a Bay Nature editor from 2011-2017. Before Bay Nature she worked in journalism for more than a decade as a former newspaper reporter turned radio producer turned web editor with each rendition bringing her closer to her dream of covering environmental issues. She co-founded Way Out West, a site dedicated to covering Bay Area environmental news.